From the cover of the book, The Adventures of Four Fools may seem to be yet another generic young adult fantasy novel with the same formulaic plot as countless others, but it is anything and everything but. Four Fools was written in the spring of 2023 by three sophomore students from Silicon Valley International School, two of whom used pseudonyms (Irving Green and Leopold the Mystellious). Although I still am clueless on what it means to be “mystellious”, I must admit that the writing of these fine fellows is of a superior quality.
The story revolves around a cast of eccentric characters, or “fools”, who journey to dethrone a dark lord who doesn’t believe in infrastructure. The first fool introduced is Pedroisce, whose name’s pronunciation is left completely up to the interpretation of the reader. Other than having an intentionally vague name, Pedroisce’s notable features include his long white beard and his tendency to muddle up magical incantations. The other protagonist introduced on the first page is Gort the Peasantslayer. As is implied, he is a brutish character—to whom physics only sometimes applies. Gort possesses inhuman strength and an insatiable appetite, though these attributes more often than not lead to conflict due to his intellectual ineptitude. This “ragtag duo”, along with two mostly irrelevant others, form the central cast of the entrancing story. Yet, the plot is not all that makes this story a masterpiece. The stylistic choices of writing and the sardonic humor elevate this work to a level of its own.
From the start of the book, it makes multiple commentaries on tropes found in many generic works of fantasy. The city from which our heroes depart is called Shishasheshurshire, which mocks the outlandish names of places in these sorts of books. Additionally, Pedroisce’s name’s pronunciation is intentionally vague and the spelling surprising. Irving Green commented on this pivotal creative choice: “Pedroisce was named to deliberately confound the reader, mimicking how other books will mutilate names. In fact, Pedroisce originally started as Pedro”. Notice the care that went into this one single creative choice. Gort the Peasantslayer plays on the trope of the foolish, brutish barbarian. The authors chose to exaggerate these tropes, such as with the inherently violent “Peasantslayer” title. Gort’s strength and lack of wits are similarly augmented to an extreme degree, leading the reader to reflect on the trope itself.
Besides names, there are many other stylistic elements which exalt this book over its brethren. For example, the following repetition is found at the start of the book: ‘ “We’ll stop at the tavern in Shishasheshurshire,” said Pedroisce. They stopped at the tavern in Shishasheshurshire”. The second line comedically repeats previous information without any reformulation. This comments on the blandness and repetitiveness of books in the genre. Sarcastic remarks are often employed to note on this, such as in the following phrase: “They were two like no others, a ragtag duo of upstart adventurers coming to save the day. Never had such a thing been seen before”. A common trope in similar works is that of underdog heroes who succeed without fail. Similarly, the lines “They had been planning their plan of attack for hours. Sten Valter Ungroth had no idea what would hit him” serve to satirize the poor strategies of fantasy heroes that still always succeed.
A final pertinent stylistic element present in the first few pages is the footnotes. Footnotes are often reserved for texts focused on science and research, and as such, their inclusion in this work can be surprising upon the first read. However, they add significant comedic value to the entirety of the book. For instance, we can look at the footnote: “The current most plausible theory remains that Gort was able to wield it through his sheer ignorance of the laws of physics. After all, expecting someone who doesn’t know the laws to obey them is an exercise in futility”. The comedy of this footnote is obvious, but to clarify to those ignoramuses who cannot understand, it is the equating of physics to human-made law where the comedy lies.
The overall quality of the work is great, as is the comedy, which is even more impressive for a collaborative work. The reviews on the back of the book attest to this fact, with The Bogwold Times commenting, “A tale like no other… certainly destined to become a modern classic”, and Irving Green’s mom appraising it as “A true triumph of artistic expression”. However, the names of these reviewers do leave some doubts, as The Bogwold Times appears to be fictitious, while Irving Green’s mother may have a conflict of interest. Still, this work is one for the ages. I wholeheartedly recommend!
If you are interested in acquiring a copy of this piece, please email Irving Green’s legal representative at beng25@stu.svintl.org.
*On the subject of conflicts of interest, I must address my own. Irving Green dedicated this book to me, writing: “To Pierre Gouriou, for no particular reason”. I can confidently say that the quality of this work would have led me to make an equally positive review regardless.
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